(C) 2005, Sisters of the Mississippi Abbey
Yesterday passed quietly and uneventfully as the due date of our second child slipped by with no signs of labor. I should know better than to expect an early or “on-time” baby, but it still felt a little like a certain someone missed their own birthday. Irrational? Maybe. But my “40-weeks-pregnant” hormones entitle me to emotional and irrational thoughts.
This past Sunday, the above picture graced the church bulletins as a powerful image celebrating the sanctity of life. As a woman preparing for the pain of labor and the joy of new life, I found this image inspiring and thought-provoking.
On the left we see Eve ashamed after she ate of the fruit with the serpent wrapped around her leg. It powerfully represents her entanglement with sin and slavery. On the right we see Mary, the virgin mother of Jesus, comforting Eve and crushing the head of the serpent. Even in the womb, our savior represented our redemption from our sins.
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Genesis 3:15 – 16
Just as Christ’s pain on the cross brought about new life for those who believe in Him, so God in His mercy has allowed us to bring new life out of the pain in childbirth. How beautiful that God would bring our redemption in Jesus through a woman and through our own deserved curse of pain in childbearing.
To read more thoughts about this image, check out my hubby’s article.
